


Ain't That a Kick in the Head?

by diamondheights



Category: Women's Soccer RPF
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-18
Updated: 2018-01-14
Packaged: 2019-02-04 02:30:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 13,543
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12761229
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/diamondheights/pseuds/diamondheights
Summary: Tobin Heath and Kelley O’Hara are best friends entering their sophomore year at Stanford. Practically joined at the hip for soccer practices, parties, and surf trips, the two are inseparable. But what will happen when a gorgeous incoming freshman catches both of their eyes?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first woso fic, hope you guys like it!

The waves at Montara Beach were intimidating, to say the least. There’s a reason the small beach, roughly 45 minutes away from the prestigious Stanford University, was dubbed “mini Mavericks.” The crash of the waves against the shore was deafening, leaving the three wetsuit-clad girls anxiously gripping their boards, their toes digging into the sand. 

“You know, guys,” the tallest girl finally uttered, breaking the silence between them, “we really don’t have to do this.”

“Yeah, Ash is right,” a second voice chimed in, eyeing the breakers that looked as if they could just swallow all three of the girls whole. “Let’s just go somewhere else…”

“Tobs, I expected this from Ash, but you?” a third girl feigned offense. “You know,” she sighed, sticking her board in the sand, “if you guys want to go back to riding kiddie waves at Lindamar, be my guest. But I thought you wanted something a little more challenging.” She smirked at her two friends

“Challenging? Yes. Suicide mission? Not exactly what I had in mind, Kell.” Tobin smiled. 

“What, so you’re like, scared?” Kelley turned to face Tobin. “Tobin Heath and Ashlyn Harris, scared of a few itty bitty waves,” she laughed, pinching Tobin’s cheek. 

“That’s not working on me, Kell. I think Ali and I would both prefer for me to return in one piece,” Ashlyn gulped. If Ashlyn’s girlfriend Ali Krieger had known Kelley O’Hara’s plan, she probably would have shut it down immediately, especially given Kelley’s track record with so-called ‘fun ideas.’

“You’re so whipped, Ash,” Kelley laughed, nudging the girl on the shoulder.

“Call it want you want, but I’ll be waiting in the car,” Ash waved as she shamelessly began walking back to the parking lot. 

Kelley looked back out to the water and then again towards her best friend, flashing a million watt smile. “What do you say Tobs?” 

“I say, I know I can’t stop you…”

Kelley rolled her eyes, about to interject.

“…but I can’t let you go out there alone, can I?” Tobin grinned. 

Kelley laughed and yanked her board out of the sand. She knew she could always count on Tobin to go along with her schemes, even if she always tried to talk her out of them first. She never could. And, until she met Ali, Ashlyn was almost as stupid as Kelley was; willing to try almost anything just for the experience. 

The two remaining girls approached the shoreline, letting the cold water run across their feet. Kelley had never surfed before she came to California last year. Peachtree City, Georgia wasn’t exactly a surf destination. Tobin had surfed a few times before, growing up close enough to the Jersey Shore to take a few lessons. But, in the end, their love of surfing had really come to be a product of their friendship. It was how they cleared their heads, whether it was before a big game or after a bad break up, Kelley and Tobin were always ready to go at a moment’s notice. Even if they decided not to surf, the pair just loved to sit on the beach and take in the ocean air. They were thankful to go to a school close enough to the water for a day trip. 

Kelley began wading out further into the water, Tobin following suit. Crawling atop their boards, they began to paddle out. 

Tobin found herself staring intently at the waves, a bit of nervousness reading on her face. She felt cold water hit her face as Kelley splashed her, laughing and starting to paddle out towards them. 

“First wave is all yours,” Tobin conceded, raising her hands in pretend defeat. She was more than happy to let Kelley try this on her own. “And, Kell, if you die, I get your board AND your new cleats.” 

Kelley shrugged, laughing, and continued paddling further out. She positioned herself in front of a monster of a wave and Tobin found herself holding her breath. As Kelley stood up to catch the wave, Tobin began to reprimand herself for letting the two get into something so stupid. But much to her surprise, Kelley stayed up, carving onto the swell with relative ease. Tobin had to admit, she was impressed. Kelley was always full of surprises and seemed to defy most odds in life. Tobin cheered her on enthusiastically, “I can’t believe Ash is missing this,” she mumbled to herself, turning around to look towards the parking lot. When she turned back towards the water, Kelley was nowhere to be found.

“Shit…KELL!” Tobin yelled, paddling out further to try and help the girl. There was nothing, and Tobin became increasingly worried. Kelley would have a hard time coming back up with these big waves pounding into her, she thought. Tobin put her hands to her head, wondering what to do. She had made the joke in jest, she didn’t really think Kelley would die. She’s come close plenty of times, sure, but she never gets too seriously hurt. 

Suddenly, Tobin felt a heavy presence fall onto her back. Her first thought, of course, was that a shark had launched onto her. Falling underneath the water, Tobin came back up gasping for air, sure she was going to be eaten alive. But she surfaced only to realize that this shark had freckles, and looked a lot like Kelley. 

“What the fuck, man?” Tobin yelled, splashing water towards her friend. “I thought something bad happened!”

“Something bad DID happen,” Kelley answered. “You missed a killer wave…” She sent Tobin a shit-eating grin. “So now it’s your turn right? Go ahead, it was awesome!”

“I think I’ve had enough excitement for today,” Tobin took a deep breath and laughed. “Come on, let’s just go home and take a nap.”

“I love a good nap,” Kelley replied, “Last one to the car buys beer!” And before Tobin could even register the sentence, Kelley was paddling at breakneck speed back to the shore. Tobin increased her pace, catching up to Kelley. 

When their feet hit the sand, they fell into an all out sprint back to the car. It was a tie, as the two opened the hatch. Ashlyn was inside the car, sound asleep. “I guess you’re not the only one who loves a good nap,” Tobin joked. 

Kelley and Tobin secured their surfboards and opened the driver and passenger doors, with Ash still fast asleep in the backseat. She hadn’t woken up or moved an inch since the pair had returned. 

Kelley put the keys in the ignition and Tobin gave her a knowing nod, turning up the volume on the stereo. Suddenly, loud music shook the car and Ashlyn jolted awake in a panic. Kelley and Tobin laughed uproariously from the front seat as Ashlyn’s eyes narrowed. 

“Ha Ha, very funny guys,” Ashlyn commented sarcastically.

“Just don’t tell on us to Ali, okay Harris?” Kelley pretended to pout. 

The three laughed, heading back towards campus and singing at the top of their lungs to the song on the radio. 

 

\-----------------------------------------

“Listen, this wave was HUGE,” Kelley gestured with a beer in hand, accidentally splashing a bit of it on the floor of Allie Long and Becky Sauerbrunn’s shared house but a little too tipsy to notice. Their soccer teammates Emily Sonnett, Sam Mewis, Morgan Brian, and Meghan Klingenberg were totally enthralled in the story, eating up every word. 

Tobin dodged Kelley’s arm, laughing at her friend’s gift for dramatic storytelling. Ashlyn sat next to her on the couch with Ali cuddled up next to her. Kelley continued the story, “So, Tobin and I are paddling out…”

Ali interrupted, “You didn’t go out there did you, babe?” She narrowed her eyes at Ashlyn. 

“No way!” Kelley laughed. “Ash ran back to the car scared to death as soon as we hit the beach.”

Sonnett, Sam, Moe, and Kling joined in the laughter. “Wow, Ash,” Kling wheezed, “so much for our big and tough goalkeeper!”

Just as Ash was about to respond, or beat Kling to a pulp, Ali pressed her lips to her girlfriend’s cheek. “Don’t listen to them. A sense of responsibility is sexy.”

“Ugh, gross,” Kelley and Tobin mocked in unison.

“Whatever, you guys are just jealous,” Ash protested. “When was the last time either of you had a date?”

Kelley began to open her mouth when Ashlyn cut her off. “A real date, Kell. Not a hook up with a girl you barely knew.”

Kelley sat back, folding her arms. “You may be right this time, Harris,” she warned, “but I’m just waiting for the right girl.”

Tobin sat forward, “And none of the girls from last month were right?”

“Nope,” Kelley announced, “not a single one of those SIXTEEN girls was my soulmate.” She wiggled her eyebrows, leaving the rest of the group groaning and rolling her eyes. 

“And besides, Tobin,” Kelley continued, “you haven’t even dated anybody since Shirley. It’s been like over six months. Don’t you think it’s time to move on?”

Tobin blushed, as all eyes of the group fell on her. “I’ll move on when I find the RIGHT GIRL.” She laughed and lightly smacked Kelley, who laughed in return. 

“Okay guys,” team captain Becky Sauerbrunn yelled from the kitchen. “12:01. Get out of my home. Classes start tomorrow and we have our first practice tomorrow afternoon.”

Tobin helped Kelley up from the couch as the freckled girl buckled at the knees initially and regained her balance, rubbing her eyes. “Come on, guys,” Ali laughed, “I’ll take you three back to your apartment.”

Usually, Kelley would have protested. She’d much rather stay here with her teammates and drink and play beer pong. She wasn’t the most studious person, though she enjoyed her environmental engineering classes. Surprisingly, Kelley was the type of student who was smart enough to just wing it and get an A. Tobin was a little better. She hardly kept a schedule but studied hard for her Communications major. She could always be persuaded to get out and do something wild with Kelley though. 

As Ali dropped them off, kissing Ash goodnight much to the disgust of Kelley and Tobin, the three girls walked through the door of their on campus apartment and went their separate ways to their bedrooms. 

“Night,” they said, almost in unison. Exhausted from their beach day and not wanting to think about going back to classes tomorrow, all three fell asleep almost immediately as their heads hit their pillows.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The beginning of Christen's first day as a Stanford Cardinal.

After two seemingly endless days of student orientation and unpacking, Christen Press was finally beginning to settle into her dorm room at Stanford. She had dreamed of coming here ever since she was little. The campus was gorgeous, the academics were second to none, and she was even able to secure an extremely generous scholarship. She knew it would be difficult living six hours away from home, already missing her mom, her dad, her sisters, and especially her dogs. It took everything inside of her not to call her parents crying every single night so far. She didn’t want them to worry about her. But tonight, lying on the itchy, carpeted floor and laughing for hours with her roommate Julie Johnston, she felt for the first time that everything would be okay. As far as roommates go, Christen won the jackpot. Julie was from Arizona; witty, blonde, tidy, and extraordinarily kind. Christen had been nervous about her living situation on move-in day, having heard horror stories about awful college roommates. She was so afraid that she would end up with someone racist, homophobic, or downright unhygienic. Luckily, Julie was the opposite. Over the last two days, the girls had become fast friends and Christen prayed that this was one friendship she could keep for life.

“You okay, Chris?” the blonde girl inquired, sitting up from the floor to wave a hand in front of her roommate’s face. “Hellooooo…Earth to Press!”

Christen quickly refocused her attention, grabbing Julie’s wrist and pulling herself up from her horizontal position. She leaned back against her bed to look at Julie.

“Sorry, Jules. I think I’m just a little bit nervous for tomorrow,” she smiled weakly, carefully picking at her nail polish. Their eyes met and Julie raised an eyebrow, silently protesting Christen’s previous statement.

“Okay,” Christen admitted, “I’m a lot nervous.”

“It’ll be fine,” Julie reassured her. “The first day of anything is always the hardest.”

“You’re right,” Christen groaned. “I’m being ridiculous, aren’t I?”

Julie paused for a second, pretending to think. “Well, it’s not ridiculous that you’re nervous. But it is a little ridiculous that you’ve already packed your backpack, mapped out your classes twice, set three alarms, and scheduled a time for ‘breathing’ into your itemized day planner.”

Christen laughed, climbing up onto her bed as Julie turned out the light and did the same. “I know, it’s a little much. I just like to be over prepared.”

“Let me give you some unsolicited advice…now that I’ve known you for approximately two days,” Julie spoke from her bed across the dark room. “Life is going to throw things at you that you just couldn’t have prepared for. Trust me. The only thing you can do is be yourself and go with the flow.”

Christen sighed and answered softly, “Night, Jules.”

Julie hummed triumphantly in response. “Night, Press.”

\---------------------

Christen woke up with her first alarm, 5:00 AM. She had woken up at the same time almost every single day since high school. If she wasn’t so paranoid about waking up late, she might not have bothered to set any alarm at all. She hadn’t slept great last night, her nerves kept her up. She tossed and turned for a few hours, feeling too hot under the covers and too cold without them. It was a restless sleep but she was glad to have gotten any at all. Glancing across the room, she noticed Julie, sound asleep. Classes didn’t start until 9:00, but Christen liked being up early enough to watch the sun rise. It was an ideal time for some peace and quiet, some meditation, and maybe some yoga. She felt the anxiety in the pit of her stomach and decided to go out onto the adjoining porch that the two girls shared with another double room. She hadn’t met her porch-mates yet, but she was confident that nobody else would be up this early in the morning. And she was right, of course; smiling softly when she realized that the space was all hers. Still in her pajamas, she unrolled her yoga mat and began her morning routine. The sun gently caressed her bronze skin, reminding her of home. Emptying her head of all invasive thoughts, she felt perfectly at peace, evenly breathing in and out. The alarm on her phone rang, interrupting her meditation as scheduled, though she was disappointed at its end. She wished she could stay out here all day instead of going to class.

Quietly closing the porch door behind her, she noticed Julie up and about, sleepily fumbling with the coffee maker. Christen’s movement caught her attention and she lifted her head to observe her roommate.

“How do you even look so perfect in the morning?” Julie whined. “It’s honestly not fair. I look like a gremlin at 7:00 in the morning and you look like a supermodel.”

Christen rolled her eyes. “I’m just a morning person,” she scoffed. “Thank you though,” she smiled.

“So what classes do you have today?” Julie asked, finally pouring the coffee out into two glittery mugs.

“Just Intro to Communications today,” Christen replied, taking a sip of her coffee.

“You only have one class? Ugh, you’re so lucky,” Julie groaned and threw her head back.

“One class that’s the basis for my whole major,” Christen smiled. “So, like, no pressure on me or anything.”

Julie shook her head, setting down the mug. “It’s only the first class, I bet you won’t even do anything today.”

“I don’t think this is quite like high school, Jules,” Christen corrected her friend. “What classes do you have today?”

“Too many. I honestly can’t even remember,” Julie laughed. “But I can never really remember anything before I finish my coffee anyway.”

Christen checked her phone, reading 7:15 AM. “Ugh, I should shower and then get going.”

“I’ll probably miss you before you leave then, I’m going to head out for a jog,” Julie said. “But I’ll see you tonight for dinner, right?”

“Right,” Christen smiled. “Have a great day, Jules.”

“You too, Chris. Don’t study too hard, okay? It’s only the first day.”

“No promises,” Christen said over her shoulder, waving to Julie on her way to the showers.

\-------------------

After snoozing her alarm several times, Kelley finally mustered the strength to get out of bed. She lazily rolled over to check her phone: 8:00 AM. Practically the crack of dawn for the freckle-faced girl. She sat up, shifting her feet to the floor, though you couldn’t really see much of it. It was littered with shoes, soccer equipment, an inflatable dolphin that she still couldn’t exactly trace the origins of, and masses of clothes that belonged both to her and various one night stands who had left them there, perhaps mistakenly in the hopes of being able to return one day to retrieve them. Quickly selecting an outfit, which these days always seemed to be sandals, athletic shorts, and a t-shirt, she grabbed her bag and slipped out of her room.

Ashlyn stood in the kitchen in a tank top and shorts, hovering patiently over the toaster while Tobin sat at the counter in a snapback, focusing intensely on some kind of childen’s toy.

“What’s that, Tobs?” Kelley asked, gesturing to the object.

“This, my dear friend, is called kendama. Sword and ball,” she spoke slowly, carefully thrusting the stringed ball up and attempting to catch it in one of the wooden cups attached to its sides. “Fuck,” she cursed as the ball bounced off the rim. “Wait,” she turned to her friend, “I thought you were the one that got it.”

“Okay, did we go to a carnival or an arcade or something last month?” Kelley questioned, throwing her hands up in exasperation. “I don’t know where that giant inflatable dolphin in my room came from either.”

Before anyone could answer, the toaster loudly ejected Ashlyn’s Poptart. The older girl sighed happily, reaching to grab it but being forced to toss it between hands as she realized how hot it was.

“Oh, Ash, could you make me a Poptart?” Kelley appeared eagerly at Ashlyn’s side. Ashlyn turned around, cooled Poptart in hand, and gestured with her hands in front of Kelley’s face.

“Boom,” she spoke while chewing, “You’re a Poptart.”

In a split second, Kelley had grabbed the treat out of Ashlyn’s hands, taking a bite of it herself, much to Ashlyn’s dismay as she cornered the smaller girl and shoved her against the refrigerator in an attempt to retrieve it.

“Hey, hey, hey,” Tobin interrupted, grabbing the Poptart from Kelley and handing it back to Ashlyn, effectively breaking up the scuffle.

“Kell, why don’t we go get some breakfast before class. It’s 8:15- oh my god you’re actually awake with 45 minutes to spare. What gives?”

“New year, new me, Heath,” Kelley grinned. Tobin shrugged, grabbing her bag and keys from the counter.

“We should get going then. Some of us aren't seniors who are barely taking three classes,” she sneered at Ashlyn.

“You’re just jealous,” Ashlyn replied. “Have a fun day at school, children. I’ll see you at practice this afternoon,” she shouted, waving them out the door.

Tobin and Kelley continued together down the stairs, headed towards the main café on campus. The two walked in comfortable silence, with Tobin eventually speaking up.

“So, new year, new Kelley?” she teased, smirking at her friend.

“This is the year, Tobs!” Kelley exclaimed loudly and excitedly. “No more dicking around. I’m going to apply myself, go to class, train harder at practice, drink less!”

Tobin laughed so hard at the last remark that she stopped dead in her tracks.

“Fine,” Kelley admitted playfully. “Maybe not drink less. It’s college and, after all, the Beastie Boys did fight for my right to party.”

“That’s definitely your theme song,” Tobin quipped, opening the door to the café.

They sat in relative silence for about ten minutes, scarfing down their breakfasts until Kelley finally finished eating and spoke. “What about you, Tobs?” she asked.

“What about me?” Tobin raised an eyebrow, unsure of what Kelley was talking about.

“Do you have any new semester resolutions?” Kelley prodded.

“I guess I hadn’t really thought about it,” Tobin answered. “I wanna win the championships this year though, that’s for sure.”

Kelley stood up, jokingly placing her hands over her heart. “I can see it now. Kelley O’Hara and Tobin Heath lead the undefeated Stanford Cardinals to the NCAA Championships.”

Tobin laughed, standing up to join her friend and tossing her garbage in the bin before the door. “Well,” she concluded, breathing in the fresh morning air, “It’s a nice thought. But, for now, I gotta get to class.”

“Class…?” Kelley asked, feigning ignorance. She finally laughed, sending a light punch to Tobin’s side. “I’ll see you at practice, dude.”

“Later,” Tobin called back.

Kelley turned away, walking the opposite direction and attempting to mentally prepare herself for a two hour lecture. She whipped out her phone, checking texts and social media for about few hundred feet before she felt something collide with her shoulder. Her phone fell to the ground, along with some books that didn’t belong to her.

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry,” a voice pleaded.

“It’s totally fine,” Kelley answered, facing the ground to collect both her phone and the books. “I drop my phone all the ti-” she began, stopping when she looked up into the eyes of the stranger who had bumped her. She was by far the most beautiful girl Kelley had seen in her whole life. And Kelley had seen plenty of beautiful girls. But this one was exceptionally gorgeous, with smooth light brown skin, bright green eyes, and dark hair that cascaded over her shoulders. “Wow,” Kelley whispered, rising from the ground and extending the books to the girl in front of her.

“Thanks,” the girl smiled shyly.

“I’m Kelley,” the brown haired girl uttered, gaining her composure. She flashed a confident smile at the beautiful girl.

“Christen,” she replied, accepting her books back, feeling slight goosebumps as her fingers gently grazed the stranger’s. “Sorry for bumping into you, it’s my first day and I guess I’m just feeling a little overwhelmed.” Christen surprised herself at how freely words flowed in front of Kelley, almost as if she just couldn’t stop them.

“Ah, a freshman,” Kelley smiled. “How’s your first day as a Cardinal?”

“It was good until I bumped into a total stranger and made a total fool of myself,” she sighed.

“Don’t worry about it,” Kelley beamed. “Do you need any help finding your classes? You just happened to bump into a sophomore with an excellent sense of direction.”

Christen hesitated. She knew exactly where her class was, she had mapped it out several times already. But, she reasoned that it wouldn’t hurt to start making some new friends on her first day. “Sure,” she smiled brightly, showing Kelley on the map which building her class was in.

Kelley noticed that, of course, it was all the way across campus from her own class. But Kelley O’Hara was never one to miss an opportunity to talk to a gorgeous girl, even if it meant that she would be late on the first day of school.

“So, Christen,” Kelley began, “Do you have a last name? Or just one name? Like Cher or Bono?”

“Press,” the dark haired girl answered, glancing towards Kelley and finally noticing the freckles, the piercing light brown eyes, and the toned arms, realizing just how hot the girl was. She involuntarily bit her lip.

“Press,” Kelley repeated, “Well you certainly made an imPRESSion on me!” She shamelessly laughed at her own bad joke and Christen couldn’t help but join in.

“And yours?” Christen requested.

“O’Hara. O apostrophe H, A, R, A. Remember that. I’ll be a professional soccer player some day.”

“Modest,” Christen joked. “I guess I have to take your word for it. As of right now, I don’t think you’ll have to remember my name for anything glamorous.”

“Seldom do I forget anyone’s name, and especially not the names of incredibly gorgeous girls,” Kelley flirted. Christen felt heat rise in her cheeks, blushing at Kelley’s forwardness but, ultimately, she felt intrigued by it. Just as she formulated a response, Kelley spoke first.

“Well, I’ve delivered you here safely, Ms. Press,” she grinned, gesturing grandly and dramatically to the building.

“Why, thank you,” Christen played along. “And I’m sorry I bumped into you. Your phone is okay, right?”

“There is one thing wrong with it,” Kelley stared down at her phone, frowning. Christen instantly became worried again, waiting for Kelley to tell her that she had shattered her phone screen all thanks to her. Instead, the freckled girl held the phone out towards Christen.

“It doesn’t have your number in it…” Kelley nodded towards the screen. Wow, Christen thought. What a line. But Kelley was hot, confident and charming; she really couldn't help herself. She typed her number into the phone and returned it to Kelley, who sent off a quick message to ensure that Christen had her number as well.

“Maybe you could accidentally bump into me again sometime,” Kelley suggested happily.

“Maybe,” Christen replied with a smile. “Thanks again, for all the help.” Kelley nodded and headed off in the direction of her own class, as Christen hovered a moment watching the girl leave. She checked her phone, the screen boasting one new message from an unknown number:

_See you around, Christen Press ;)_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's going to go back and forth for a little while between some O'Press and Preath, so be patient. Thanks for reading, I really appreciate all of your nice comments!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Christen makes a new friend! Tobin likes a new girl.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a really short chapter. Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!

Tobin had made it to class with more than ten minutes to spare, an unusual feat for the girl who always just happened to wander to the right place at the right time. She slumped down into the scratchy auditorium style seat, retrieving her notebook and pen from her backpack. For Tobin, school was a necessary evil – even professional soccer players needed an education. She hated sitting still in lectures. She hated spending the entire day indoors. And, most of all, she hated the tiny foldout desks attached to the chairs, which seemingly existed only to trap her in the seat. She liked learning, but at what cost? She hadn’t been interested or engaged in any class she had taken so far.

In spite of this, she tried her absolute best to keep up with her classes. She was undecided her freshman year but had recently decided to take up a Communications major, reasoning that it would be useful in the long run. Unfortunately, it meant she had to take a 9 AM class, and a freshman class at that. Sure, she probably wouldn’t be the only sophomore there, but it still felt embarrassing nonetheless. 

Listening to the loud conversations of the freshmen sitting behind her, she involuntarily uttered a deep sigh. After a brief scan of the room, it became apparent that Tobin wouldn’t have the luxury of already knowing a classmate either. It felt strange sitting alone in a room full of people, especially people who probably already knew each other from orientation. It’s going to be an extremely long quarter, she thought. 

Suddenly, she heard a voice from beside her: “Can I sit there or does that seat belong to the ball now?” Allie Long smiled smugly, motioning to the soccer ball on the seat next to Tobin. 

“Harry!” Tobin happily greeted her friend. “I mean, you can sit there if he says it’s okay,” she laughed, removing the ball. 

“I was afraid you had gone all Tom Hanks in Castaway on me,” the blonde replied, taking the adjacent seat. 

“It’s the first day of classes, there’s still plenty of time for that,” Tobin laughed. Besides Kelley, Allie was probably Tobin’s closest friend at school - which gave rise to one puzzling question. “How didn’t I know you were in this class?”

“Apparently I didn’t have enough classes on my schedule, so they stuck me in here. My counselor thought that an easy intro class would be good for my GPA. I was just going to transfer out after today but, now that I have you, I could be convinced to stay in…Intro to Communications,” Allie grinned and read the course title off of her schedule. 

Having Allie in a class was a double-edged sword: it might make things more bearable, but, in the long run, she would probably prove to be a distraction. Regardless, Tobin felt a wave of relief wash over her. 

“Wow, if I had her legs I’d never be single,” Allie nudged Tobin, directing her attention to a blonde girl entering the room. By the time Tobin had finally glanced up from her phone to look across the room, the girl was stumbling down the stairs of the lecture hall. Instantly, the laughter of dozens of freshmen filled the room. The girl’s cheeks were bright red, too shocked to get up off of the floor. Tobin was seething, ready to jump up and threaten everyone who had found it so funny.

She was about to get up to help her when she realized that someone else had already beat her to it. 

“Are you okay?” asked another girl who was seated at the opposite end of Tobin’s row. She stood and extended her hand to the blonde stranger, helping her up. 

Tobin smiled. She loved people who always did the right thing, though they were rare these days. When she leaned forward, finally catching a glimpse of the kind stranger, she felt like somebody had kicked her in the head. Not only was the girl compassionate, but she was drop dead gorgeous. Tobin couldn’t help but stare, studying the girl’s bright smile and slender figure. 

“Hey, sit here,” the mystery girl motioned at the seat next to her own. As the blonde hobbled into the aisle, the darker haired girl turned around to face the laughing students behind them. “Your parents must be very proud,” she gently, yet firmly, countered. 

Tobin sat there motionless, still watching the stranger. Before Allie could even taunt her friend, the professor had entered quickly. The class fell silent and Tobin forced her attention towards the front, watching the dark haired girl in her periphery. 

She barely focused the entire lecture. Instead, she scrambled to find some excuse to talk to the girl after class. Maybe I could ask to be study partners, Tobin thought. She scrapped the idea, thinking it was too forward and creepy. Kelley would do it, she chided herself. Tobin was never good at approaching girls, usually relying on Kelley to do most of the talking. 

Fuck it, she thought. I’m just going to tell her the truth. How hard is it to say, “Hi, my name is Tobin. I thought it was really cool of you to stand up to those kids like that.” She groaned internally at how lame it sounded. By the time she had made her decision, the class began packing up. Panicking, she told Allie she would meet up with her at practice, failing to notice the blonde raise an eyebrow at her nervous request. 

She took a deep breath. New year, new Heath, she thought. I’m taking more chances this year. As she approached the end of the row, she heard the blonde girl speak up, beginning a conversation with the mystery girl.

Uh oh, Tobin thought. She turned around quickly, walking to the other side of the room. One little snag and you chicken out, Tobin scolded herself. Come next class, she mused, she would be totally prepared.

***********

When the professor dismissed the class, Christen’s legs had practically fallen asleep. It was an interesting lecture, but she knew she would have to get used to sitting in one place for so long. She caught herself missing the shorter class periods in high school, until she realized that she was done for the entire day. She checked her phone, still notifying her of the same unread text from Kelley’s unknown number two hours ago. Re-reading the message sent a shiver up her spine, and she would be lying if she said she hadn’t spend the introductory portion of the class trying to come up with something clever to say back to the freckle-faced girl. She unlocked her phone, ready to reply when a voice interrupted her thought process. 

“Hey, I just wanted to say thank for you helping me before class,” the blonde girl sitting next to her shyly admitted. 

“Oh,” Christen managed, caught off guard, “Really, it was no problem. Those guys were jerks. I’m just glad you’re okay,” she beamed. 

“I’m Whitney,” the blonde girl extended her hand. 

“Christen,” she replied, returning the gesture. “Are you a freshman too?”

“Well, technically, yes. I’m a transfer student, but I only finished one semester at San Diego State,” Whitney explained. “I was accepted here last year, but I couldn’t afford to come. I got lucky and qualified for a full scholarship this year.”

“That’s amazing,” Christen replied genuinely, “Are you from Southern California?”

“Yeah! Torrance,” Whitney smiled. 

“No way! I’m from Rancho Palos Verdes!” Christen couldn’t believe the odds. The universe must have wanted them to be friends. 

The pair had plenty to talk about as they exited the room, walking into the warm, bright sun. As Christen learned, Whitney lived right down the hall from her room, she was a Political Science major, wanted to become a lawyer, and loved baking. As they climbed the stairs, Christen had an idea. “Hey, if you want, you should have dinner with my roommate Julie and I tonight,” she suggested. 

“That would be so great,” Whitney sighed happily. “I was afraid I was going to have to sit alone and be ‘the girl who fell down the stairs’ for the rest of my college career.”

Christen laughed, waving goodbye to her new friend as she unlocked the door. Dropping her bag on her desk chair, she fell backwards onto her bed, bringing her phone to her face. She saved Kelley’s number, rolling over onto her stomach, biting her lip in thought. She finally typed out a reply. 

_You can see me whenever you want, Kelley O’Hara ;)_

**********

By the time Tobin arrived at practice, she was surprised to see most of the team, including Kelley, already on the field. Having changed and placed her bag inside her locker, Tobin ran to join her friends. Kelley, Ashlyn, Allie, and Morgan had formed a circle around Kling, passing back and forth while Kling desperately ran to intercept the ball. “My legs are smaller guys! It’s not fair!” Kling complained, clearly exhausted from running in circles. 

Upon seeing Tobin, Kelley broke off from the circle, jogging over to join her friend, with Ashlyn and Allie not far behind. “Hey Tobs!” Kelley cheered, wrapping an arm around the girl. “How was your day?” 

“I dunno, it was alright,” she shrugged. 

“She’s just mad at herself,” Allie smirked. “She got all heart-eyed over a girl in class and couldn’t pluck up the courage to actually talk to her.”

Tobin rolled her eyes, throwing the ball she was holding into Allie’s stomach. “I didn’t chicken out!” she exclaimed. “She was talking to someone else…”

“Aw, Tobs,” Kelley momentarily sympathized before leaning into Tobin’s ear. “Was she hot?”

Tobin smiled, “Yes, Kell,” she answered. “Very.”

Kelley grinned, much to Tobin’s amusement. “Don’t even think about it,” the brown-haired joked. 

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Kelley promised, stealing the ball from under Tobin’s feet. She kicked it up and attempted to juggle it. “Next time though,” she continued, “Go for it. You don’t want to end up old and regretful someday, do you?”

Before Tobin could answer, Kelley motioned towards an approaching figure, “Speaking of old and regretful…”

Coach Paul Ratcliffe approached the team, blowing his whistles. “Laps!” He yelled. 

“How many, Coach?” Kling asked. 

“I haven’t decided yet,” he smirked. “I’ll let you know.”

“We’re not finished with this conversation. I'm so happy for you, finally moving on from Shirley,” Kelley smiled at her friend and took off running behind the rest of the team with Tobin following suit.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! Sorry I've been gone. Finishing up finals and coming back home for break took up some time, but I'm here now and ready to jump back in! This is just a quick update and mostly a set up for the next chapter (which should be pretty long). Thanks for all the positive responses and comments :)

Kelley O’Hara sat in her Building Systems class, her arm supporting her head as she leaned to one side to keep from falling asleep. It had been one week since classes had started and one week since she had met Christen Press. While Kelley hadn’t seen the girl since, she had texted Christen sporadically between practices and classes and frequently caught herself day dreaming about heatedly making out with the freshman. In all fairness, Kelley had day dreamed about several freshman over the past week, but, in the end, each one eventually morphed into Christen Press, like some weird bodysnatching alien. Christen was different than the girls Kelley usually slept with; she was bright to the point of being almost magnetic and always seemed to leave the freckle-faced girl wanting to learn more about her. _Definitely wouldn’t mind getting into bed with her_ , Kelley mused silently to herself and smiled.

“O’Hara,” a voice boomed from the front of the class.

Kelley jumped slightly in her seat. “Uh, yep? What’s up?”

It would have been unusual for a college professor to call out any student by name, but this one happened to be Kelley’s advisor. He recognized her potential as an engineer and knew exactly when she was zoning out. “Why don’t you come up and complete the diagram for us?”

Kelley rose from her seat, making her way down the aisle of the lecture hall. She could feel all eyes on her, but it definitely didn’t bother her. She lived for the attention, almost skipping down to the front.

“This one?” She clarified rather seriously.

“That’s the one,” he answered. He was sure he had caught her off guard and eagerly waited for her to accept the chalk from his hand.

She did and turned back to the board. “Well, it’s an EMWD diagram,” she began. “This would be your brush filter,” she explained, circling a piece of the water tank drawing, “this is the cartridge backwash filter…the flash filter…and the hydroclone desander.” She turned back to the professor, smiling and taking a dramatic bow before returning the chalk.

He rolled his eyes, stunned that she had managed to show any grasp on the material when she barely listened during lectures. He muttered under his breath: “How did you…”

Kelley shrugged innocently.

“Alright, Ms. O’Hara. Thank you. You can go back to your seat.”

Kelley beamed as she walked back up the aisle. She caught the eye of a blonde girl in front, who gave her a coy smile. Kelley winked in return, causing the class to laugh quietly. “All right, that’s enough,” the professor continued, redirecting the class back to the lecture.

Kelley pulled her phone from her pocket and wrote out a quick text.

_10:01 AM to **Christen Press**_

_So…when can I see you again?_

* * *

 

Christen felt her phone buzz in her pocket and desperately fought the urge to check it. After all, she was still in class and attempting to take notes as quickly as possible. She hoped it was Kelley, practically dying to hear from the girl. She had to refrain from texting her back right away every hour on the hour just to maintain some shred of dignity. She definitely didn’t want to come across too desperate. _It’s a stupid crush_ , she dismissed, _school is way more important_.

She was able to make herself wait until after class to check her phone. Her heart almost stopped when she read the preview on the screen. _Kelley wants to see me again?_ She smiled like a kid opening presents on Christmas, enjoying her fantasy bubble while walking towards the exit. She collided with something in front of her, another person.

“Oh, sorry,” she sheepishly sighed without once taking her eyes off of her phone or breaking her stride. She barely even noticed the brunette girl she had bumped, standing with a soccer ball under her arm and mouth slightly open like she was about to say something. As Christen entered into the sunlight, Whitney nudged her arm.

“What’s with you?” she laughed. “You’re acting like a cartoon lately. Well, even more so than usual…”

Christen rolled her eyes as the pair walked towards the dining hall. “It’s nothing, Whit!” she laughed. Before she could explain further, the taller blonde girl had grabbed the phone out of her hand. She held Christen at arms length while she read the screen.

“Who’s Kelley?” she asked with a smirk.

“Just a person,” Christen smiled. She wanted to tell Whitney everything but it all felt so high school, so childish. _It was just a crush! So what?_

“Will I ever get to meet this person that you’re clearly all heart-eyes for?” Whitney questioned happily.

“Maybe! I don’t know!” Christen exclaimed. She was exasperated but also incredibly happy. She hoped that someday Kelley would take her on a date, they would fall madly in love, and her friends could meet the soccer player before the wedding. Christen knew that it was a ridiculous thought, and she asserted mentally that she was more rational than that. But Kelley undeniably had some sort of strange power over her.

Entering the dining hall, the two girls spotted Julie at a table in the corner just sitting down with her food.

“Hey!” Julie called them over. “How was class?”

“It was…class,” Whitney remarked with a shrug.

Christen stayed quiet, fumbling her phone nervously in her hands as she tried to come up with a response to Kelley’s request.

“What’s up with her?” Julie asked Whitney, nodded towards Christen.

“Some sort of secret crush, I think,” Whitney responded.

“Speaking of crushes,” Julie continued, slapping the table in order to get Christen’s attention. It worked, and the dark haired girl looked up from her phone. “This hot football player in my English class invited me to a party this weekend. You guys have to come with me…” She turned to Christen with pleading eyes. “Pleaaaaasseee Chris! I know you don’t like parties but I-“

“Oh, I’ll go,” Christen answered casually, almost as if it were a given.

“Wait, wha- I mean are you sure?” Julie and Whitney were shocked, looking to each other to receive confirmation that they had heard the same thing.

“Yeah, it'll fun,” Christen smiled. She happily popped out of her seat and walked to the buffet line, leaving her friends absolutely dumbfounded. She unlocked her phone and began typing out a new message.

_11:31 AM to **Kelley O’Hara**_

_I’m going to a party on Friday. Maybe I’ll see you there?_


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here's where the story really starts. Thanks for your patience, guys!

Walking up to Zach Ertz’s party, Tobin would have been lying if she said there wasn’t something in the back of her mind that hoped the mystery girl from her class would be there. It was the party too, of course. Tobin loved a good party, maybe not as much as Kelley, but it was a great way to elicit some stress relief that usually only came from the soccer field.

 

“First party of the year,” Kelley cried triumphantly, stumbling over herself a bit before Ashlyn could extend her hand and steady her.

 

“Jesus, Kell. There’s going to be plenty of stuff to drink there, I’m not sure it was really necessary to pregame,” she laughed.

 

“She’s fine,” Tobin chuckled. “She’s just buzzed. It’s half liquor and half Kelley O’Hara enthusiasm.”

 

Kelley laughed, draping an arm over Tobin’s shoulder and throwing all her weight onto the girl.

 

“Tobs, maybe that girl will be here! The one you like!” The freckle-faced girl excitedly realized.

 

“I dunno, maybe,” Tobin shrugged, failing to hide a small smile at the prospect.

 

“What’s her name?” Kelley prodded, unwrapping herself from her best friend as the frat house came into view.

 

“I, uh, I actually…don’t know,” Tobin admitted shyly.

 

“Hmph,” Kelley groaned, “Well what does she look like?!”

 

“Uh, pretty?” Tobin answered naively.

 

“You’re not helping me, Heath. Come on, I wanna try to find her for you!!” Kelley began skipping backwards facing Tobin.

 

“Allie knows what she looks like,” the brunette tried to pass the conversation off to the blonde ahead of them, who turned at the mention of her name to return a smile.

 

“Okay, well it’ll have to be a team effort then, guys!” Kelley motioned to the group.

 

Actually, almost the whole team had opted to come along. Sonnett, Kling, Lindsay, Morgan, Ashlyn, Ali, Sam, and Allie had decided to walk with Kelley and Tobin, while the rest would arrive later.

 

“I’m actually looking for someone tonight too,” Kelley continued. “Her name is Christen! So if any of you see Christen,” she gently slurred, “That’s Christen.”

 

Allie fell back to walk beside Tobin. “Right. So any girl at this party named Christen…is Christen,” the blonde muttered to her friend. Tobin laughed and nodded in agreement.

 

The group trotted up the steps to the entrance of the house. Kelley hopped in front of everyone, opening the door and grandly motioning for her friends to enter.

 

The bass from the music vibrated almost everything and the place was dark and absolutely packed. “I’m gonna check something out,” Kelley yelled into Tobin’s ear while pulling her phone from her pocket, “I’ll catch you in like ten minutes and operation Tobin’s Dream Girl can begin!”

 

Tobin smirked and gave her friend a thumbs up and watched as she disappeared into the crowd.

 

Allie leaned over to Tobin’s ear, “Where’s Kell going?”

 

Tobin yelled, “To check something out, I guess.”

 

“To check  _someone_ out…” Allie jokingly corrected, as she and Tobin began walking off to search for drinks.

 

* * *

 

 

Christen and Whitney stood with their backs against the wall in an attempt to avoid being brushed up against any more sweaty bodies. The air was hot and sticky, and most everything smelled like weed and beer. She could feel the music in her stomach, it was so incredibly loud. This definitely wasn’t Christen’s scene, but she was desperate to have an excuse see Kelley again and she was more than happy to go in support of Julie, who had left in search of the host about twenty minutes ago. The two girls had been texting all week, flirting back and forth. Tonight, however, she didn’t want to text Kelley first. _Better to let her come to me_ , Christen thought. But, at this point, the girl was starting to wonder if Kelley would come to her at all. _Maybe this was a mistake_ , she feared. She had overheard two older girls in the dining hall a few days ago, speaking very...affectionately about the girl. Christen couldn't help but wonder if her genuine feelings were a little one sided.

 

Whitney nudged her, urging the brown-skinned girl to have a sip of her drink. “Whatever or whoever you’re waiting for,” the blonde began, “you have to just relax and let it happen.”

 

“You’re right,” Christen yelled, downing the contents of her cup and handing it to her friend.

 

“Wow,” Whitney laughed. “Go Chris!”

 

Christen felt her phone vibrate in her hands and, almost immediately, her adrenaline levels soared.

 

_10:40 from **Kelley O’Hara**_

 

_Hey, are you around? I just got here (emoji with tongue sticking out)_

 

She laughed, mostly because the text and also as a result of her nerves. She scrambled to type out a response.

 

_10:41 from **Christen Press**_

 

_Yeah, I’m here :)_

 

_10:41 from **Kelley O’Hara**_

 

_I’m by the stairs if you wanna hang out!!_

 

Christen felt her stomach knot in excitement and desire. She turned to Whit to excuse herself before realizing that the blonde girl had already seen the message over her shoulder.

 

“Go! I’ll be fine!” Whit smiled truthfully.

 

Christen sent a gaze at her friend, both thankful and apologetic, before setting off in search of the soccer player. She walked towards what she figured was the direction of the stairs, praying she was right. It was difficult to make her way across the room, pushing through the masses of dancing bodies. Eventually, she felt her hands grip a wooden rail and lifted her head.

 

There she saw Kelley, gorgeous as ever in a white t-shirt and black skinny jeans. Christen noticed the way her arms slightly flexed as she raised her cup to drink from it. Kelley was talking to a redheaded girl, who appeared to be trying to make some sort of flirty advance, placing her hand under the ham of Kelley’s shirt. But, much to Christen’s pleasure, Kelley stepped away graciously, seeming to hold the girl at arms length. The freckle-faced girl finally saw Christen standing to the side and eagerly dodged the redhead to approach her.

 

“Hey!” Kelley yelled, wrapping Christen in a brief hug. It was unexpected and the dark haired girl faltered a bit against the athlete’s strong grip.

 

Christen smiled and inadvertently wrapped her arms around Kelley’s waist. “Hi,” she managed to say. “I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to find you in here,” she raised her voice.

 

“What?” Kelley laughed, unable to hear Christen over the music.

 

“Oh, I said,” Christen began before Kelley pulled her closer and leaned into her ear.

 

“It’s too loud down here, do you wanna go upstairs?” She suggested.

 

“Are we allowed?” Christen kicked herself for saying something so lame.

 

Kelley laughed and nodded her head affirmatively. Christen felt the girl grab her hand and start pulling her up the stairs. They had to step over several people, either passed out or making out.

 

Christen watched as Kelley walked down a long hallway, pulled a string from the ceiling and led Christen up the small set of stairs that emerged to a separate room, leading out onto a balcony. Without speaking a word, Kelley slid open the door and brought Christen out into the balmy night air.

 

“Finally,” Kelley sighed, sitting on the couch that sat facing the railing. “Sorry, I don't mean to, like, corner you or anything. It’s just so loud down there.”

 

“No, it’s fine,” Christen reassured her. She sat down next to Kelley on the couch. “I’d rather be alone with you.”

 

The line seemed to surprise both girls, mostly Christen who hadn’t necessarily meant to say that out loud. Kelley smiled and scooted closer to the other girl, their knees touching.

 

“I found this place at a party last year,” she said. Christen thought back to the dining hall and couldn’t help but wonder if Kelley had ever taken anybody up here before.

 

As if the soccer player had read her mind, she continued: “You’re the first person I’ve shown though, aside from two of the frat guys,” she explained, “I found some building plans for the neighborhood when I was doing a project. They didn’t even know this existed. We made a deal and they put the couch up here, so only us three could use it. But they graduated last semester and I don’t think they ever got around to telling anyone else.”

 

Christen felt relieved knowing that this wasn’t some sort of ‘move’ that Kelley did with everyone. She remembered the way Kelley avoided the girl downstairs, and hoped it meant that the girl had some sort of feeling for her. God knows, Christen had. 

 

“That’s really cool,” Christen smiled softly. Kelley nodded in return, finding Christen’s hand and interlocking their fingers.

 

Christen’s face was burning up, and the girl felt like she was ready to burst into flames about any minute now. The physical contact brought their week of text-flirting into reality. She wasn’t sure if it was her attraction to Kelley, the spark of the moment, or the alcohol, but Christen found herself shifting her body towards Kelley, leaning into the girl.

 

Kelley wrapped an arm around her as their whole bodies now touched on the couch. The loud music from downstairs was somewhat muted, and the night air stilled around them.

 

“This is really nice,” Kelley spoke, turning towards Christen.

 

They had been so chatty over text, but suddenly there just wasn’t a lot to say. Not in a bad way, of course. On Christen’s part, it was mostly shyness.

 

“It is,” Christen choked out, finding her face a lot closer to Kelley’s as she turned to face the girl.

 

While Christen’s thoughts caught up with her, she felt Kelley’s thumb brush over her hand. Her eyes caught Kelley’s as she glanced down to the girl’s lips, hoping she would get the message. Kelley understood, moving forward to place a palm on Christen’s face and bringing their lips together. All the tension that had building was released, and Christen placed her hands on Kelley’s neck as the kiss deepened and their mouths parted. Christen had kissed a few girls before, but she was positive that nothing compared to kissing Kelley. She felt herself start to melt at her core. The kiss lasted for, in Christen’s mind, a heavenly two minutes before she decided to pull away. Kelley almost moaned in disappointment.

 

Kelley let out a small, giddy laugh as she let her hands drop from Christen’s face. “I _really_ wanted to do that,” she gushed.

 

Christen smiled and leaned forward, giving the girl one more chaste kiss. “Me too."

 

Kelley's voice lowered slightly. “Would you maybe want to come back to my place?,” she offered. "You don't have to, I totally understa-”

 

“I would love that,” Christen interrupted, blushing. "I'm kind of thirsty though."

 

Kelley laughed, wiggling her eyebrows. "Well, me too..." 

 

Christen joined in the laughter, smacking the girl lightly on the shoulder. "You know what I meant!"

 

"Well then let's get you a beer and then let's quench that other thirst..." Kelley laughed unashamedly at her own joke. 

 

Christen rolled her eyes jokingly. Kelley was ridiculous, but Christen found her sense of humor incredibly endearing. She appreciated Kelley as being the opposite of everything she was: wacky, disorganized, outgoing, boldly romantic...And yet, it seemed like they meshed so perfectly together.

 

The pair stood up, hands clasped as they made their way back down to the party. The music seemed even louder than before. As they descended the final stairs, Kelley held up her cup and Christen nodded back with a smile. Kelley laughed and pressed a kiss to the girl’s cheek, walking off to get drinks for both of them.

 

Christen leaned against the wall, biting her bottom lip in pure joy. _Is this actually happening?_

 

* * *

 

 

“Tobin!” Allie Long yelled towards her friend. The two had just finished in third place in a beer pong tournament and had made their way back out to the main party with Ashlyn.

 

Tobin turned to her friend expectantly.

 

“Isn’t that the girl?” Allie asked, motioning towards the corner.

 

It was. She looked absolutely gorgeous, with her long dark hair falling over her shoulders. She wore a light blue crop top and high waisted jeans, and she was leaning against the wall, _alone._

 

Tobin nodded at Allie. They both knew that this was Tobin’s chance. It was now or never.

 

“Just be yourself!” Ashlyn reassured her, patting her on the shoulder.

 

“Maybe not too much,” Allie quipped jokingly. “Good luck!” she yelled, pushing Tobin in the girl’s direction.

 

Tobin felt a little more confident, having had a little bit to drink since the party had started. But her steps felt heavy as she approached the girl from the side.

 

“Hi,” Tobin spoke, grabbing the dark haired girl’s attention.

 

“Hi,” she smiled in return.

 

“I’m Tobin,” she extended her hand. “I’m, uh, in your Intro to Communications class.”

 

The girl glanced down at her hand before raising her own to shake it, but remained silent.

 

“It’s a big class,” Tobin shrugged, unsure of what else to say.

 

She nodded her head. It seemed as though the whole encounter had taken her by surprise. “I’m Christen,” she finally said.

 

Tobin laughed. _Weird, so many Christens at this school_ , she thought. She noticed Christen looking at her, eyebrow cocked, probably wondering what was so funny.

 

“Your name isn’t funny,” Tobin clarified. “I mean, my name’s Tobin I don’t think I get to decide which names are funny.”

 

This time her comment elicited a genuine laugh from the girl. _Christen_.

 

It gave Tobin a surge of confidence. “I was just laughing because…nevermind. It’s not important. Anyway, I, uh, you’re really pretty,” she began before Christen cut her off.

 

“You’re cute too,” she smiled.

 

“Really?” Tobin said, her heart practically leaping out of her chest.

 

“You are,” Christen replied, “But I feel like I should mention, I’m waiting for someone.”

 

Tobin’s heart dropped in her stomach a little bit. _Of course_.

 

“Actually, there she is,” Christen motioned behind Tobin.

 

When Tobin turned around and saw Kelley walking towards them, her blood ran cold. _Oh God, it’s **this** Christen? This Christen? Of course it’s this Christen_. She almost felt like throwing up right there in the middle of the party.

 

“Hey!” Kelley joined the two, kissing Christen briefly.

 

Tobin tried to hide her frown. _Throwing up was really starting to be a strong possibility._

 

“I see you guys already met!” Kelley happily exclaimed. “Chris, this is my best friend Tobin,” she said, throwing her arm around the girl, whose face seemed to have drained of all color.

 

“We actually have a class together!” Christen smiled encouragingly at Tobin.

 

“Nice!” Kelley cheered. “What a coincidence. Well you can’t get a better friend than Tobin!”

 

Tobin nodded, still feeling nauseous. “I’m going to catch you guys later…” she managed to say.

 

“Ah, drink too much?” Kelley laughed. “Lightweight! Hey, when you get back maybe Chris can help us look for your mystery girl.”

 

Tobin silently nodded her head, turning to push through the crowd towards the bathroom. Turning the knob, she shut the door behind her and steadied herself on the sink. She tried splashing some cold water on her face. _I'm dreaming_ she thought. She sat in front of the toilet, with her back against the wall and stared at the ceiling. But she wasn’t. She wasn't dreaming at all. _This is a real life nightmare._


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I know you guys all have a favorite pairing...and I do too...but you have to wait and find out what it is! I'm making the chapters a little shorter so I can keep the story going longer. Thanks again for reading!!!!!

An hour later, Christen found herself straddling Kelley O’Hara on top of her bed. They were both buzzed and hadn’t wasted much time upon arrival to the apartment, making out heavily. The alcohol had slightly blurred her concentration, but the dark haired girl was jolted back to reality when Kelley flipped them over. Christen had to admit, she was pretty turned on by the show of strength. Kelley broke from a desperate, sloppy kiss to trail her tongue down Christen’s neck. Her fingers played with the hem of Christen’s shirt, as the soccer player attempted to take things a little further. Christen sighed in pleasure but ultimately stopped Kelley by interlocking their fingers.

 

“Maybe…not yet,” Christen spoke shyly. Kelley could sense a pang of embarrassment in her delivery.

 

“It’s cool,” Kelley replied with a soft smile. Christen felt a sense of sincerity in her answer and relaxed again. The freckle-faced girl moved back up, capturing Christen’s lips once again. Christen smiled into the kiss, before delicately separating from the other girl, removing herself to lay side by side.

 

“Are you okay?” Kelley asked. Her eyebrow was cocked and she seemed genuinely concerned.

 

Christen laughed, “I’m perfect.”

 

Kelley appeared visibly relieved and leaned onto her elbow, propping her head on her hand with a smile. “But?” the older girl inquired.

 

“Well,” Christen began, stopping between sentences to press a chaste kiss to Kelley’s lips. “It’s two in the morning…and your room is so messy… that every time I look around… I get a small anxiety attack… and don’t you have a game tomorrow?”

 

Kelley laughed, rolling onto her back. “I do, but it’s not until 2:00! That’s twelve hours from now! The night is young, Chris!” She pulled the girl in and parted her lips, kissing the girl a little longer this time.

 

“Are you gonna come?”

 

“Hmm?” Christen mumbled.

 

“Are you gonna come? To the game?” Kelley waited eagerly for her answer.

 

“I hadn’t thought about it,” Christen replied. “Yeah, I could come. But on one condition…”

 

“And what’s that?” Kelley smiled smugly.

 

“I need a full twelve hours of rest to cheer you on,” Christen hummed, rising from the bed to pull on one of Kelley’s sweatshirts.

 

“Fine,” Kelley grinned. Christen could tell that her attendance at the game meant a lot to the girl. She smiled a lot on a daily basis, but now she was beaming. “Go, sleep. But I expect an hour of kissing for each goal I score.”

 

Christen laughed as she pulled her hair up into a messy bun.

 

“You want me to walk you back?” Kelley asked.

 

“Actually, I live in that dorm next door,” Christen smiled knowing the news would excite Kelley.

 

“For real?” Kelley responded, wide-eyed in disbelief.

 

“Yes, for real,” Christen laughed, her eyes carefully combing Kelley’s mess of a floor looking for her shoes. She found one of them near a yellow rubber duck and the other on top of a Twister mat.

 

“Come over more, neighbor,” the soccer player answered with a wink. Kelley stood up, navigating her disaster of a room with ease to walk Christen to the door of the apartment. She grabbed Christen from behind, gently backing her against the door and giving the girl one more passionate kiss.

 

“Night, Kell,” Christen happily cooed.

 

“Night, Chris.”

 

* * *

 

 

Christen attempted to enter her dorm room as quietly as possible; slowly turning the nob and gently opening the door. She crept into the entryway, carefully shutting the door behind her until a voice startled her.

 

“So, where have you been?” Julie asked with a smirk.

 

“You’re still awake?” Christen blurted out, clutching her chest and trying to slow her breathing. “You scared me!”

 

“You didn’t answer my question,” Julie sang as she plopped down onto her bed.

 

“I was just…out,” Christen shrugged nonchalantly. She wanted to tell her roommate everything but she wasn’t exactly sure what she and Kelley were. She knew what she hoped they were.

 

“Alright, alright,” Julie raised her hands, dropping the subject. The girls retired to their respective sides of the room before turning out the lights.

 

“Did you guys fuck?”

 

“Julie!” Christen practically screamed. She was glad the room was dark so that the blonde girl wouldn’t be able to see her blushing. “We didn’t, we just made out, okay?”

 

“But there is someone?” Julie prodded. Christen could tell she was smiling by the tone of her voice.

 

“I hope so,” Christen answered truthfully. “I think so.”

 

A moment of silence elapsed between the two.

 

“Do you wanna come with me to a soccer game tomorrow?”

 

* * *

 

 

Tobin was just tying her cleats when she felt a pair of hands cover her eyes.

 

“Guess who,” a voice demanded.

 

“Kell, I know it’s you. I know your voice,” Tobin chuckled.

 

“Damn,” Kelley shook her head in disappointment. “You’re too smart for me, Heath.”

 

She took a seat next to Tobin on the bench. They were playing UCLA today. It would be a tough game, but one that they were definitely ready for. That being said, all the girls were still pretty nervous. Kelley tried her best to lighten everyone’s spirits and it always helped a little bit.

 

“Where’d you go last night? You totally ran off after you met Christen” Kelley remarked, raising her leg to adjust her shin guard. “Oh wait,” Kelley stopped. Her face dropped into a more serious expression. “I know,” she began. Tobin felt her stomach drop as she anxiously waited for Kelley to tell her that she knew all about her crush on Christen.

 

“You found that girl, didn’t you?” She broke into a smile and raised her hand for a high five. “You totally got laid!”

 

Tobin laughed nervously and returned the gesture. “You got me,” she lied.

 

Kelley was about to dive into a game of twenty questions before Becky appeared to round everyone up. “Less gossiping, more warming up!” the captain yelled over her shoulder.

 

The two girls exited the locker room together. Tobin was relieved that Kelley wasn’t smart enough to figure out why she left after she met Christen. The brown haired girl had tried everything in her power to keep Christen out of her head. She had a thing with Kelley, her best friend! It was wrong! _There are plenty of girls_ , she tried to convince herself. _But they’re not_ -

 

“Christen!” Kelley yelled happily, waving towards the stands. “Hey, Tobs, I’ll be right back, okay?”

 

Tobin nodded her head, watching from afar as her best friend kissed her crush. _Not a crush_ , she mentally corrected herself.

 

She felt a ball scoot between her legs as Allie took her side, laughing that she had nutmegged the “Nutmeg Queen.”

 

“What’s with you?” the taller blonde questioned before following Tobin’s gaze to the stands, where Kelley and Christen stood hand in hand talking to another girl.

 

“No shit,” Allie mumbled in shock. “So-”

 

“Yep,” Tobin replied, not wanting to hear the words out loud.

 

“I’m sorry,” Allie replied, wrapping her friend in a brief hug. “Are you okay?”

 

“I’m good enough to kick some Bruin ass,” Tobin answered with a smile.

 

Allie patted her on the back. “That’s my girl. But, just so you know, if you need to, like, talk…”

 

“Thanks,” Tobin smiled softly, sliding the ball through Allie’s legs.

 

“Damn it!”

 

* * *

 

 

Stanford won the game, 3-2, with the opening goal and the winning goal scored by, of course, Kelley O’Hara. She was already a legend around campus, but if she kept it up this season she would definitely go down in college history. Tobin played well too but was well covered and it was difficult for her to do much of anything except hold her own against her opponent.

 

Christen was definitely impressed. And a little turned on. Especially after Kelley threw her a wink after her first goal. When the game was over, she was relieved.

 

“You didn’t tell me you were dating Kelley O’Hara,” Julie smirked.

 

“Does that mean something to you?” Christen laughed.

 

“She’s one of the top college players in the country,” Julie informed her. “You don’t know? She’s probably going to go pro.”

 

Christen turned to face her friend in shock. “Really?” _I guess Kelley wasn’t kidding when she said that_.

 

“Yeah,” Julie nodded her head. “I’m surprised you didn’t know that. You’re always watching those soccer games on TV. You follow, like, all those teams.”

 

“I’m surprised _you_ did,” Christen joked.

 

Julie feigned offense. “I am absolutely invested in college sports.”

 

“Since when?” Christen laughed.

 

“Since I kissed Zach Ertz last night, my future husband who happens to be on the football team. I have a date with him tonight!”

 

“No way!” Christen exclaimed. “You didn’t tell me that!”

 

“You didn’t tell me about Kelley!”

 

“Touche,” Christen raised her eyebrows.

 

“Well, I’m going to pee,” Julie said, rising from the stands. “I’ll be back.”

 

Julie left and Christen observed Kelley as she finished up talking with members of the opposing team as well as her own. She definitely seemed to be well liked. She scanned the field and eventually her eyes fell on a slender brunette. _Tobin_ , Christen remembered. She watched as the girl juggled the ball with great determination. The act mesmerized Christen; Tobin made it look so easy. She was still watching the girl, #17, when she noticed Kelley trotting towards her from the field.

 

“How’d I do?” She asked, wrapping Christen in a long hug.

 

“Amazing,” Christen grinned, pressing a kiss to Kelley’s cheek.

 

“How do I smell?” Kelley asked with a smile.

 

“Not so amazing,” Christen laughed.

 

“Right,” the freckle-faced girl began, kissing up Christen’s jawline. “I should shower. Come with?” she joked.

 

Christen rolled her eyes, wrapping her arms around Kelley’s neck and leaning to whisper in her ear. “Wanna come over later? My roommate will be gone,” Christen let her hot breath touch Kelley’s neck and she felt the other girl squirm in her arms.

 

Kelley’s breathing faltered and her eyes widened before she regained her composure. “Do you even have to ask?” she countered smugly.

 

“Maybe we could get dinner or something first too?” Christen asked, unsure of how the older girl would react.

 

“Like a date?”

 

Christen bit her lip nervously. “Yeah. Like a date.”

 

“Cool,” Kelley agreed easily. “I’ll pick you up at six?”

 

“Perfect,” Christen chirped, somewhat surprised, bringing Kelley closer to kiss her again. “Please go shower.”

 

“You got it,” Kelley saluted, turning to walk back towards the locker room.

 

Christen watched her leave, but sent another glance to where she had seen Tobin before. For some reason, she found herself disappointed that the girl was no longer there.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys so much for all the support! School starts again soon but updates should be happening somewhat regularly. Enjoy!

If Tobin Heath were a day of the week, she would be Sunday. Relaxed, easy-going, and free. Sundays were for friends, soccer, surfing, and watching TV. She cherished Sundays, especially after a rough week. Given the emotional turmoil of the past few days, Tobin welcomed the break. Warm morning sunlight lingered on her legs as she debated whether or not to finally get out of bed. It was 10 AM on a warm sunny day and she was anxious to be outside and enjoy it but too comfortable to move.

 

Before she could make any conscious decision, she heard footsteps approaching her room. The door opened without a knock. It was Kelley, of course. Kelley never knocked.

 

“Tobs, is today a surf day or what?” Kelley asked excitedly and somewhat rhetorically. “I’m ready to accidentally swallow my weight in saltwater. Are you in?”

 

Tobin took a minute to study her best friend. Kelley had a glass half full personality; always looking forward to something, always happy about something. It was one of the things Tobin admired most about her. Kelley’s optimism was contagious to the point that you felt invincible when you were with her. Was that what so many girls saw in Kelley? Sure, her friend was good looking but there was always a special sparkle to Kelley that made her so likeable. Annoying, sometimes, but like a puppy. Was that what Christen saw?

 

“Of course,” Tobin happily replied. “I’m always in.” She was so grateful to know Kelley. She’d never had a friend that she had so much fun with, shared so much in common with, or was as loyal as Kelley. Surely a stupid crush wasn’t going to derail their friendship.

 

“Excellent!” The freckled girl fist-pumped. “ASH,” she yelled, “TOBIN IS IN!”

 

The brown haired girl laughed and threw her feet to the floor, preparing to get dressed when Kelley popped her head back in.

 

“Oh yeah, by the way, Christen and Ali are coming too. We can all fit in my Jeep, right?”

 

Tobin felt her stomach churn at the mention of Christen’s name. “Yeah,” her voice cracked slightly and she cleared her throat before continuing. “I think that should be okay. You have five seats and our boards can go on the roof.”

 

Kelley gave Tobin a thumbs up and a goofy smile before walking off in search of Ashlyn. When she was gone, Tobin found herself unable to move from the bed, trying to wipe sleep from her eyes and any lingering attraction to Christen from her head.

 

* * *

 

 

Christen walked up the stairs to Kelley’s apartment eager to get to the beach. It reminded her of home and she was desperate to feel some sort of relief from her homesickness. Kelley had postponed their date to that night in order to focus on recovery after yesterday’s game. Christen was disappointed, but she understood. Besides, Kelley had already begun to hype up a “big surprise” for later and Christen was dying to know what it was. A candlelit dinner, a handmade gift, a proposal of marriage? Christen was so smitten that she might have even accepted any one of the three.

 

She raised her hand to knock twice on the apartment door before it opened. A blonde girl stood in the doorway that she deduced was Ashlyn.

 

“Hey,” the taller girl smiled, chewing an energy bar. “You’re Christen,” she said less as a question and more as a statement.

 

“And you’re Ashlyn?” Christen countered.

 

“Usually,” Ashlyn shrugged nonchalantly.

 

Christen entered the apartment and noticed a pretty brunette sitting at the kitchen counter. Her eyes lit up and a thousand-watt smile came across her face as she rose to greet Christen.

 

“Hi, I’m Ali,” she introduced herself. “I’m Ashlyn’s girlfriend.”

 

“Christen,” the younger girl replied happily. “Nice to meet you!”

 

“Ash, babe,” Ali attempted to grab her girlfriend’s attention.

 

“Hm?” Ashlyn replied, rummaging through the refrigerator.

 

“Why don’t you go let Kelley know that Christen is here?” she hinted.

 

“KELL!” The blonde girl yelled obliviously.

 

Christen giggled as Ali smiled and rolled her eyes.

 

Kelley emerged from her room, sliding down the hallway in her socks to greet Christen with a big hug. “Hey! You met everyone!”

 

“I did,” Christen smiled, enjoying the freckled girl’s embrace.

 

“I’m really glad you’re coming!” Kelley exclaimed, packing a frisbee into her backpack. She walked back over to Christen, placing her hands onto the girl’s shoulders and looking her in the eyes. “Again, I’m really sorry for bailing last night. But I have a surprise for later that is going to Blow. Your. Mind.” She mimicked an explosion over her head with her hands.

 

Christen smiled, kissing Kelley on the cheek. “Well, whatever it is, I can’t wait.”

 

“Tobin, if I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a million times. You need to wear flip flops,” Ali chastised the girl as she walked into the living room.

 

“But we’re going to the beach,” the brunette half-whined. She wore a white t-shirt and black board shorts with a backwards snapback. Christen briefly caught her gaze as she silently begged anyone for backup.

 

“Take them off when we get there but you can’t walk on the pavement barefoot,” Ali informed her. “Look, Ash has her flip flops on.”

 

“Ash?” Tobin pleaded to her friend.

 

“Sorry, man,” the taller girl replied, pointing to her feet. “I listened. I put my flip flops on.”

 

Tobin exhaled loudly and Christen watched as she defeatedly walked back towards her room, presumably in search of flip flops.

 

“Thank you!” Ali yelled after her. She turned to Christen, “You’re responsible too, right? Please tell me you’re responsible. I don’t know how much longer I can handle being the only responsible person around.”

 

“Christen is super responsible!” Kelley yelled from her room, before emerging with her wetsuit in hand. “It’s her superpower!”

 

“I like you already,” Ali smiled, pulling a surprised Christen in for a hug.

 

Moments later, Tobin emerged wearing flip flops.

 

“Can we go now?” Ashlyn sighed.

 

“No. One second,” Kelley fumbled with her pocket. She dramatically whipped out a pair of sunglasses and put them on, tossing her keys into the air and catching them. “Now we can go.”

 

Christen and Ali exchanged amused looks as the group headed out the door.

 

* * *

 

 

“Are we there yet?” Kelley pouted impatiently.

 

“I don’t know, Kell,” Ashlyn yelled from the back seat, “considering you’re the one driving.”

 

“Tobin’s got the map up on her phone,” Kelley stated defensively.

 

Tobin, wedged next to Ashlyn and Ali in the backseat, carefully examined the screen. “30 minutes,” she said flatly.

 

Kelley groaned, “Well, we’re stopping here for a sec, I gotta pee.” She took the next exit, rolling into a nearby gas station. “Chris?” she hinted, nodding towards the convenience store. The dark haired girl complied as they both exited.

 

“Christen is so nice!” Ali happily exclaimed after the pair had walked into the store. “I really like her, I hope Kelley is serious about this one because I think I’m going to need her around for the sake of my sanity.”

 

“Yeah,” Ash agreed. “She’s really cool. What do you think Tobin?”

 

Tobin shifted uncomfortably in the seat, adjusting the seatbelt nervously. “She’s okay. I mean, uh, I don’t really know her that well or anything.”

 

“Don’t you have a class with her?” Ashlyn prodded.

 

“Oh, uh, yeah. Yeah, I do. Hey, did you see we’re playing Santa Clara next week?” She asked, desperate to change the subject.

 

Ashlyn eyed her suspiciously. “What’s with you, twitchy?”

 

“Nothing,” Tobin shrugged, “I’m not twitchy, okay?”

 

“Okay, okay,” Ashlyn raised her hands in pretend defeat and shot a look towards her girlfriend.

 

Ali turned to Tobin, studying her face carefully before coming to a conclusion. “You love her,” she deadpanned.

 

“What!” Tobin laughed, “I do not love Christen. What? Ha, that’s insane. That’s Kelley’s, uh, date? I don’t love her. She’s, uh, ugly.”

 

Ali raised an eyebrow, coaxing the truth out of her friend.

 

“Okay, she’s not ugly. I just think she’s pretty. And funny. And has a heart of gold.”

 

The couple groaned exhaustedly at the last comment.

 

“Tobin!” Ashlyn yelled. “That’s bad!”

 

“I know, okay? I know!” Tobin buried her face in her hands. “But I’m handling it. I’m fine, everything is fine. This is no big deal. Please don’t tell Kelley.”

 

“Of course we wouldn’t,” Ali reassured her, rubbing the brunette’s back. “We’re here for you.”

 

Before Tobin could reply, the driver and passenger doors opened and a disheveled Kelley and Christen re-entered the car. “You guys behave yourselves?” She joked, turning to face a silent and almost sullen backseat. “Damn,” she muttered. “Tough car.”

 

* * *

 

 

Christen and Ali sat side by side on the beach, talking and observing the three girls riding the waves out in the ocean. They talked about Christen’s future at Stanford, Ali’s impending graduation, hobbies, and hometowns.

 

“Kelley’s never brought anyone with us to the beach before,” Ali smiled, nudging Christen with her shoulder.

 

“Well, what can I say?” The younger girl laughed and pointed out to the shore. “She looks great in a wetsuit.”

 

Ali squinted her eyes before chuckling. “That’s Tobin.”

 

“Oh,” Christen blushed. “I meant Kelley,” she adjusted her finger.

 

Ali laughed and leaned back on her elbows in the sand. “I know what you mean though. Ash looks great in a wetsuit too.”

 

“You guys are really cute together,” Christen looked back at Ali, smiling genuinely.

 

“Thank you,” Ali beamed. “Landing that one was not easy.”

 

“Really?” Christen inquired. “How so?”

 

“Too oblivious to know I even liked her!” Ali threw her head back, remembering the early days of their relationship. “Ashlyn wouldn’t know if a girl was flirting with her even if she flashed her boobs at her.”

 

Christen laughed, leaning back to join Ali.

 

“But Kelley,” Ali continued. “She goes after what she wants. And she almost always gets it.”

 

Christen’s gaze found Kelley again on the water. She felt special knowing that Kelley could probably go after anyone, but decided to pick her. She watched as Kelley splashed her friends.

 

“What’s Tobin’s story?” Christen found herself asking. Ali shot her a confused look before the younger girl was able to recover. “Kelley talks about her all the time.”

 

Ali nodded in understanding. “Yeah, they’re best friends. They’re practically inseparable. Tobin went through a bad break up at the beginning of the year. Her girlfriend just dumped her out of nowhere. It was totally unexpected.”

 

Christen pursed her lips, feeling a wave of empathy wash over her. Both girls fell back into the sand and Christen found herself starting to doze off. She hadn’t slept much the night before as Julie had come back from her date around three in the morning. She opened her eyes again twenty minutes later when she felt a shadow standing over her and a few cold drops of water. She raised her sunglasses and saw Kelley, dripping wet standing above her.

 

“Kell,” Christen laughed, “you’re getting me wet.”

 

“Good,” the freckled girl smirked before sitting down next to Christen.

 

The dark haired girl rolled her eyes. “You looked good out there,” she smiled as she sat up. She looked off across the beach and noticed Tobin sitting by herself, surfboard planted firmly in the sand.

 

Kelley noticed Christen’s gaze. “She likes to do that after we surf,” Kelley explained. “Kinda like your meditation thingy!” she pieced together excitedly.

 

Christen turned her attention back to Kelley, who was peeling off the top of her wetsuit. She couldn’t help but stare before Kelley raised her head back up. It was already getting to be late afternoon and it would be dinner time by the time they returned.

 

“Hey,” Kelley spoke, drying herself off with a towel. “We should head on back. I want to have plenty of time for my little surprise,” she winked. She extended her hand and Christen accepted it gladly as the group packed up their belongings and headed back to the car.


End file.
